


The Raven King

by StarsAndOil



Series: Kings [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: M/M, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-17
Updated: 2016-11-19
Packaged: 2018-08-31 10:50:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8575474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarsAndOil/pseuds/StarsAndOil
Summary: A strange dream is the start of Darnell Curtis' strange day, and it only seems to spiral downwards from there thanks to a ring, a book, and his best friend who can run in heels.





	1. Ink, Paper & Papercuts

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first story really ever written so.. Please be kind to me on this? I have no set goal for this, so I suppose this will be a ride for all of us, huh?  
> Please tell me what you think of this!

_Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things that escape those who dream only at night._

_\- Edgar Allan Poe -_

* * *

 

_The smell of must filled your nose as you stirred awake. You are unfamiliar with the scent, but you do not find it unwelcoming simply because you enjoy the lingering scents of something extra adding to it.. Something old, like ancient paper and the fresh intoxicating smell of ink poured over it. You dare to crack open your eyes, expecting light to make you cringe since you never bother to close your curtains, only yo be greeted with a soft orange light and darkness._

_You sit up, slowly and cautiously as you take in your surroundings. A.. library? You suppose it is a library, if the aisles and aisles of books surrounding you are anything to go by. You look down in front of you, just to see what you had been resting on, and to your surprise you find an open book set before. You feel a bit relieved you didn't completely drool on it._

_The book old and clearly worn by age. It had a thick leather covering with bright golden words edged into it as trimming decorated the edges. You ghost your fingers over the covering, brows raising in question as you read the words._

_Kings._

_That was all it offered to you and did little to quench the thirst of your curiosity. You reached over to the corner of the book and hooked your fingers under partially, just enough to get a good enough grip to turn the page to the first chapter. **The Raven King.** The words echoed in your head and thrummed in your skull, causing a pained cringe to appear on your face. It was loud, entirely much too loud for you, and you found yourself aching for it to cease._

_It wasn't until you placed your forehead back down against the book that the sound numbed and morphed into something else, but your eyes fell heavier and heavier before you could figure out just what it was. All you knew was that it sounded familiar.._

**_Beep.._ **

**_Beep.._ **

**_Beep..._ **

 

Vibrations and rattling melted in together with the sounds of shrill shrieking in a mixture of a broken harmony; the red numbers flashing upon the screen to sync with the rather annoying melody. The sound continued for a solid five minutes, slowly stirring the man sleeping next to it awake. Eventually, a hand snaked its way out and through the covers, reaching up to search for the button that would stop the sound. Fingers ghosted around the wooden surface of a nightstand, trying to find the machine that refused to quit. Finally, his hand managed to track down the small machine rattling on and pushed down the button to silence it.

The man stirred again under his covers before finally rising, the sheets sliding down and uncovering his head. A low groan left his throat as he battled with himself on if it was worth sleeping in in order to get all the sleep he needs, but also meaning that he would stand up best friend. If he did that, the woman would probably crash through his door in as the living embodiment of rage on heels, and the man liked his doors still on its hinges. So, with his mind made up, Darnell dragged himself out of bed to start his long, long morning.

 

The start of his morning would begin with a trip to the kitchen and a fresh cup of coffee in his hands. He needed the extra boost of caffeine to wake him up completely, else he be caught drifting off to sleep on the bus ride to his destination. He didn't spend much time on breakfast either, fixing himself a bowl of Cap 'n Crunch and settling on a muffin to go with it. Usually Darnell would hate to have to eat this certain type of cereal, since the corners of the sweet wheat scratched the roof of his mouth and made it so raw that it ached, but his stomach told him not to go against it any further.

The man ate in silence, sipping at coffee after each spoonful of cereal and a bite of his muffin, until his bowl was entirely drained and all that was left of his muffin was the chocolate crumbs that came with it. He pushed himself out of his chair and cleaned up his mess before heading to his bathroom, wanting to wash away the grime and sweat that had built up from his rather warm night. The temperatures weren't the issue for this, but rather his apartment's higher than normal thermostat. He showered, soaping up his tanned body just enough to make sure he smelled as sweet as the soap, and shampooing his hair until the usual dusty blonde curls darkened from the added moisture.

He rinsed and repeated two more times, hating the feeling that he possibly missed something, before stepping out and toweling off. His curls shrunk close to his head once dry (a result from the brand of shampoo that he used), but it was nothing his brush couldn't fix after he raked his fingers through his hair.

Darnell brushed his teeth, a slow and lazy ritual as he perused through the many posts clogging his dash on Instagram. His thumb brushed against the screen lightly, moving the screen upwards as he spared nothing more than a glance to the variety of pictures and videos.

Once he was done cleaning his teeth, he rinsed and left his bathroom to finally dress in something for the day. He settled for a long sleeved black v-neck, dark jeans, and a thick jacket. It wasn't much, nothing fancy, but it would due since all he planned to do with hang out with his good friend, Mchawi. An odd name, but Mchawi was an odd woman. She collected lizards and practiced taboo magic and ran in heels, which was enough to make Darnell almost fear the woman.

 

Darnell left his apartment just a bit more awake than before, and when he met with his dear friend, he even met her with a small grin. The shorter woman (Mchawi was not entirely short. She stood at 5'8" and often wore four inch heels, and if the math was done right, anyone would know that she was rivaling the height of Darnell, who was standing at 6'4.5") grinned and wrapped her arms around him, a familiar act between them since they were practically considered siblings at this point, and touching was hardly a problem anymore. Darnell's expression softened and he gently hugged her back, a low chuckle escaping his lips before he stepped away from her.

"Miss Vederia-Martin, you seem to be in a pleasant mood today."

Mchawi lightly smacked his arm, her expression souring slightly before returning to its previous joyous features. "Darnell!"

He laughed this time and reached out, ruffling her hair as she swatted his hand away. "I'm sorry, but the way you look so insulted when I say your entire last name is rather humorous."

"I will wreck your shit, Darnell."

"Alright, I apologize, Mch!" His cheeks hurt slightly from his wide grin, dimples starting to reveal themselves in the center of his cheeks, and Mch couldn't help but join along. Eventually, the conversation cooled down into one about just how they would spend their day. Mchawi had a few ideas on how she wanted to spend her day, but first that would require a special instructional book that had been on her mind for a while now. She explained that a week ago, she had visited this small library on the farther side of the city. This made Darnell's brows furrow slightly, his knowledge about how dangerous that side of the city giving him more than enough justification to be concerned. However, he did not voice it considering Mchawi would, how she says, "Wreck his shit" for considering her not capable enough to handle herself on that side of town. He knew the woman was a force to be reckoned with, but he still couldn't stop the pit of worry developing in the pit of his gut.

She spoke on about the library, stating that though it was a bit run-down and old, it had a very interesting selection of books within it. She mentioned some that Darnell might've found interesting, and it wasn't until he was agreeing to follow after her that he realized that she had baited him into going with her. Darnell loved his friends, he truly did, but he hated going into such a place. He was a soft-spoken man with no desire to be violent, and seeing as to how this side of town the woman spoke of involved a lot of violence, it just didn't seem like a good mix in his opinion. He only sighed and surrendered to her, letting her take his hand into her own manicured ones, as she lead him to the bus stop. Neither of them had the funds for something like a car, so both settled on public transit. It was an understandable situation for Darnell, who was an artist still trying to get his name out there, but for the woman standing next to him it was simply hard to believe.

Mchawi was a stunning woman with a curved figure, soft chocolate brown skin and bright violet eyes. Her short, curly hair was dyed purple from the roots and faded to white, which was a nice touch in Darnell's opinion, and seemed freshly done from the fact the curls looked neater than usual. (Her hair was naturally frizzy) All of the clothing she wore was from a brand, some of them being from ones he couldn't even pronounce, and yet she still had the excuse that she simply could not afford a car. Darnell wasn't sure if he believed she wasted all her money on her looks, considering she often chided him for wanting to buy more paint brushes than were necessary. He assumed she just like wowing strangers with her looks, which was actually understandable. He did not hold it against the woman for liking the attention she attracted.

 

Once aboard the bus and in their proper seats, the two entertained themselves by idly looking through their phones and cracking a few jokes on the latest memes. Darnell himself was not big on the meme sensation, but he found them amusing enough to dab for Mchawi once. She never let him hear the end of that, simply because he had her balled up on his couch laughing until her eyeliner began to drip onto his cushions. He feels the burning feeling of regret pooling in his gut each day.

 

The library was not as bad as he thought it would be, but it was not as nice as the one where they were from. The librarian was a small old woman with a permanent soured expression plastered on her wrinkled face, and didn't even bother to welcome them as they entered. The woman's greyed hair was tied back and pinned with a bun, and her glasses threatened to slip off of her nose each time she tilted her head down to read a certain bit of text from a book he could not see behind the desk. Mchawi ignored her the same and led him to the aisles so she could search for her own book whilst he was free to roam. Darnell lingered at the front of the many aisles for a moment, taking the time to look at his surroundings. The place was dark, hardly much light being let in from the windows since two more buildings towered over the library on the sides, blocking any signs of sunlight to be seen. Cobwebs littered the corners of the building, and Darnell feared that perhaps one of them would contain a nasty little spider. Darnell did not fear arachnids, but he was not particularly fond of them either.

The shelves were old and covered in dust, and as he made his way down the aisles to look at the rows of books, he soon found that the books were just as dusty as the rest. He was lucky his allergies were not throwing a fit from all the dust he was inhaling, and he felt the need to go find Mchawi to see if she found her book until something caught his sight.

Darnell paused, almond eyes locking onto the only book not completely covered in dust. Was it new? Perhaps..

He reached and gently pulled the book out from between two dust infested books, earning a cloud of dust in response. Darnell fanned it all away with his hand before looking down at the cover. Black leather, golden borders and words.. Familiar..

Oh.

_Oh._

This.. was the exact same book from his dream. Now that he thought about it.. He hadn't thought of his dream all day. Rather, it'd been pushed into the back of his mind and only surfaced once he had the comfortable weight set in his hands. He read the title, and sure enough it was the same word displayed upon it.

_Kings._

When he opened the book to the first chapter and peeked inside, he was somehow still surprised to see the bold words written neatly in dark ink on the paper. He traced his fingers over it lightly, a warm hum resonating in his hand as he read the words aloud. " **The Raven King**..."

 

Darnell's eyebrows furrowed suddenly.

He stared at the page for a long moment before flipping to the next. Then the next.. Then the next.. Blank, blank, blank..! So many blank pages! What kind of book had no words written down yet was publi-

The man hissed and withdrew his hand, feeling a sudden sting on his thumb. Lovely.. he had been flipping the pages carelessly enough to cut himself on one of the sheets. He sighed and glanced at the minor wound before looking back at the book. It was still blank, but why was there only a chapter title? He turned back to the very first page and-

"What.."

Darnell was shocked, his eyes wide with surprise as he stared down at the page before him. Neatly written words were now upon the page, blank ink fresh and strong. The man didn't know what to say.. Had he missed this when he first looked at the book? Surely he had not..! Or.. Did he? He wasn't sure.

He read the words carefully, slowly taking them in as he recognized this to be almost like a story. So this was a novel?

 

 

* * *

 

**The Raven King**

_Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away, there was a thief.  
_

_The thief was a silent man, one no-one heard as he lurked through the shadows of his streets._

_Born from a beggar and raised by a gang, the man had learned his art by professionals who taught him three simple rules:_

_Silence, Patience, and Swiftness._

_The rules of being a thief, they whispered to him._

_The man grew to treasure these rules, and he soon went from petty crimes of stealing breadcrumbs from vendors to plucking away gold and jewels from unsuspecting ladies._

_His life moved on with ease, and he generally did not stay attached to other people. However, a nearby crow had caught sight of him and the jewels in his hands that shone brighter than anything else. The crow flew down to the man, curiosity and desire pushing it to do so._

_The man did not care for the jewels as much as the crow, and once the bird perched itself upon the thief's shoulder, he offered it a ring. The crow accepted the ring and flew away.  
_

_The crow once again came back on a later day, and once again it was gifted a jewel from the man._

_The gifts continued to flow to the crow, and the man found a small reason to steal other than to collect food._

_One day, the crow came asking for no jewels, but something smaller and much more meaningful: Food._

_The man easily gave up a roll of bread to the raven, and it hungrily ate it up. Little did the man know just how much the bird appreciated his generousness, despite being a thief._

_The gifts were treasured by the crow.  
_

 

_One day, when the thief was aiming for a much more expensive jewel, he had been caught.  
_

 

_The crow searched for the man, oh it searched and searched, but it never found him._

_It was a day later when the crow found the man in the dead of the night, sitting silently against a brick wall of a building, bloodied and bruised. Oh how the crow pitied the poor man, so it finally gave him a gift of his own._

_The gift of a new life._

_In exchange for all the riches and generousness it had received, the raven gave up its own life in order for the thief to continue his own._

 

_It worked._

 

_The man was named **Krähe**.  
_

**_ Krähe, The Raven King. _ **

* * *

 

Darnell was confused by the vague and very poorly written story (seriously, so many things were missing out!), his mind swimming with questions on what this meant and why did it only appear now, but his vision was soon engulfed by black.  


The overwhelming scent of ink consumed him until only the thud of the book hitting the old wooden floor consumed his thoughts with a familiar echo.  


 

 


	2. Down The Rabbit Hole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is now no longer a question as to why the story was so poorly written and vague.

_It's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then._

_- **Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll** -_

* * *

 

The fact that he was laying on something cold and damp was what registered to Darnell first. With slurred speech, he groaned and slid his hands up to his face, feeling along the moist surface to get an idea of what it was.

It was hard.. Like stone or bricks. Definitely the ground and not the library floor, which was dry old wood.

Darnell's eyes instantly snapped open, and reflex told him to prepare for the cringe of light suddenly hitting his eyes, but it never came.

It was only when Darnell slowly dragged himself up from the ground that he realized he was no longer in the library with Mchawi, but rather in some alley way between two buildings.

The man glanced up to look at the sky.

Greyed clouds blanketed the space above, not a ray of sunshine to be seen, and it was only then that Darnell realized that it was raining heavily down on him.

But.. Not a single drop registered on his skin.

He looked down at his hands and realized with wide eyes that he was almost transparent. Each rain drop that fell from the sky phased through him, and it was enough to almost freak him out. He began to think of a logical reason for this, an explanation that could help him understand what was going on. Okay, surely he was dreaming.. Yes, and the only reason he was aware of it was because he was having a lucid dream. Okay, okay, that all makes sense! But how did he wake up? Usually he had to force himself to do so, but in this situation he just didn't know how. The best thing to do would be to.. wander? It wouldn't take long for Mchawi to find him and wake him, so why not have just a bit of leisure time..

 

As soon as Darnell took the first step forwards, the world around him rushed forwards so violently that he swore he would've fallen over had the sudden wall in front of him not collided with his face.

The man expected to feel pain upon impact, but instead he found himself looking.. into a room? Wait- wait, where was the rest of his body!?

Darnell pulled himself back, this time resulting with him landing on his hind. Instead of rough stone to cushion his fall, he felt a soft carpet greet him instead. He blinked and stared up, brows furrowed upwards as now instead of a room he was looking at a solid stone wall. Did his head just go _through_ the wall?

He pulled himself up to his feet, not at all intrigued by the fact that he was in a different setting, but by the fact that he was able to push himself through a hard surface with ease.

He found himself now walking through the wall, only to end up in a rather clean and warm room. A bedroom he supposed, considering there was a large well-kept bed with the softest blankets he's ever seen, and nicest furniture made from smooth black wood lining the walls. Curved dressers with silver knobs and a single mirror standing upon one of them. A few papers and books were neatly stacked on the surface, just as thick furs were draped over a few others. Although he wanted to leaf through a few of these pages, one thing that stood out to him from the rest of the items.

Alone in the center of one the dressers was a beautiful ring made of pure silver. A single jewel was decorated in the center of it, a bright blue jewel with a swirling gaseous black essence in the center of it. All of his focus directed upon the jewel, a hypnotizing force leading him to step toward it.

His fingers ghosted over the piece of jewelry, and he found himself speechless to find he could feel the smooth metal under his fingertips. He had a theory burning in the back of his mind, so he decided to test it out..

As he picked the ring up, his theory was confirmed. He could lay his hands upon nothing else and feel its weight, but this ring was a cold comfortable weight in his palm. Curiosity burned in his eyes a moment later, and soon he decided to place the ring upon one of his fingers. He found the ring to be too big for any of his fingers except his thumb, so he let it stay upon the digit on his left hand. It almost felt.. right for it be there, though something tugged at his brain still.

 

His mind left the ring as soon as he heard a heavy door click and open, startling him out of his thoughts entirely. He had forgotten that perhaps other people could appear in this.. odd, oh so odd dream. The man that entered was tall.. Much taller than Darnell. A man with a strong build and thick silver armor with a long sword placed at his waist. The man was pale, so much paler than anyone he's ever seen before. The man had a permanent scowl on his face and a goatee to match with his thick brows and short black hair. A few grey strands stuck out from his hair, which gave Darnell just a small idea of his age. His eyes were sharp, and Darnell feared that the stranger saw him. However, when he walked over to the very dresser he was standing near and leaned his weight onto it before letting out a sigh, he realized that the stranger could not see him. A sigh escaped his lips as he went back to studying the man. Was he a knight? He looked to be one.. Until he looked at the man's head once again.

A spiked silver crown rested upon the man's head, which signaled to Darnell in his head that this man was not just some knight, but rather a _king_.

A loud gasp escaped his lips (he didn't know why), but it soon turned into shocked silence once the man snapped his head into his direction. He stared with wide eyes and stumbled backwards, and once again the world rushed away from him in a blur of colors.

They could hear him?

 

The next place he found himself in was no longer in that room (Now that he thought about it, if there was a king in that room, doesn't that mean that room belonged inside of a castle? Holy shit, was he just in a castle?). Instead, it was between two people conversing outside quietly as if there was not a stranger standing in the middle of them. Did they not see him? Right- People here could only hear him. Now that he was reminding of that fact, he sucked in a breath and moved out of the way. No one else was around in this area except for the two people he was standing between. One was a hooded burly man whilst the other was a thinner woman with a veil covering her head. He stared for a moment before kneeling down just a bit to get an idea of her face. A fair women who was just as pale as the man back at the castle with thin lips and beautiful black eyes. Now, Darnell was fully aware people did not have black eyes, but he could very clearly see that her eyes were not brown, they were a deep, deep black that seemed to go on forever.

But what caught his attention was the thin spiked silver band around her head. It looked so similar to the man's back at the castl- He sucked in a breath and stared wide-eyed. The queen? Holy shit, this was the queen, holy--

Darnell's train of chaotic thoughts trailed off as soon as the man she was talking to let out a gruff noise of protest. That was when he decided to listen in on their conversation, considering he's missed out so much on it.

 

"August, _please_ ," The queen hissed, her voice pleading yet stern. "I cannot keep him in the castle or else he will be killed!" It took him a second to realize just who 'him' referred to. The queen had a baby in her hands. Now he has witnessed a prince, who seemed to be staring directly at him. Darnell said nothing. He did, however, notice a necklace wrapped around the child.. It was more like a chain with a ring attached to it- Oh.

_Oh._

It matched the one he was wearing himself, despite the fact it had a much more simple design.

August, the hooded man who seemed to have muscles wider than a building, spoke out this time. His tone seem reserved, which was almost expected since the woman was the _queen_. "Ivana, do you know how much a boy will slow me down? Especially a boy born into royalty?"

Ivana sniffed and narrowed her eyes at him. "He has yet to be exposed to anything we do! Please, August, _take him!_ " Her tone was now desperate. "I do not want him to die!"

"Ivana-"

" ** _You owe me._** "

August's face darkened slightly and his eyes cast towards the ground. The woman looked as if she had not wanted to say those words, but before she could even think of taking them back August sighed and held out his arms. "Fine, Ivana. I'll take the kid in and raise him."

"August I-.. Thank you.." She spoke softer now, regret and relief mixing with her words as she slowly handed the child over to the man. He took the baby and easily held him in one arm. It stared at August in awe, its small grabby hands reaching to try and grab at the man's face.

"My debt is settled, Ivana. Do not show before me ever again, and keep your husband's nose out of my business."

Ivana shallowly nodded and took one last look at her child. She pressed a chaste kiss on her son's cheek, before turning away to flee back to the castle.

 

August looked once more down at the curious child, anger clear on his hair covered face. Now that Darnell could see him clearly, the man had quite the beard and mustache. His entire top lip was hidden behind the hair, whilst the rest of the red locks reached down his chest where it was braided and beaded with accessories. 

The baby giggled and cooed up at him, its grabby hands reaching for his beard. He swatted away the child's hands with his finger, mumbling a curse at its fat face.

 

The world rushed around him once more, but did not stop. Instead, whilst blurred colors swarmed around him, images of the child and August interacting through random periods in the child's life. One image displayed August struggling with the child sobbing, another showing his extreme fury when he had to clean up its mess. But as the images went on and the child grew, August's face grew softer and softer each time he interacted with the child. The child only smiled at him, his raven hair growing longer and his eyes growing blacker. One constant in each image was the necklace and ring hanging from his neck, never leaving his side.

As August grew more fond and the child's hair grew long, the amount of scars building up on the kid's body was being added by the month or year. By the time Darnell could make a guess and say the kid was 10, he already had three large gashes healed along his torso, one digging into the right sides of his lips, and two nicking his brow. The reason for that was because August was a thief and was raising the unnamed child to be one himself. It looked taxing, but the rewards filtered in more than the scars. Gold, gold of all kinds along with money and other jewels were what kept August's gang of thieves well fed. Along the way, whilst the boy was out on the hunt, he noticed a lone nest sitting in the crook of a branch and trunk of a tree. The child, who was now twelve, climbed up the trunk with his dagger now tucked away at his belt and a look of determination plastered on his face.

At the very top was a bird's nest. To be more specific, a raven's nest with only one lone raven left behind. It was still a baby, full of ugly fluff that have yet to develop into beautiful black feathers. The boy took in the raven instantly, much to August's chagrin. The man made it a point that the boy would be the one to take care of it, and he happily accepted the responsibility.

The raven was just as close to the boy as the ring around his chain was. They were as thick as thieves.

Soon, voices started to filter in with the scenes, and Darnell soon found he could no longer call the child a 'boy' anymore, now that he has learned a name.

Krähe.

The next point in time stopped at when Krähe was a young man at the age of 20 with hair long enough to reach the back of his thighs. Darnell saw it was the time to cut it, but apparently Krähe did not.

Krähe was standing over August, his face settled with a familiar scowl. A thing about Krähe that had changed was that in some point of his life, all emotion had drained from his face and left a husk with a crow resting upon his shoulder. Darnell never saw what point in his life had lead him to become this hallow, but clearly it was something that hit hard. 

Darnell tried to see what he was staring at, but it was when the young man dropped the elder's hand that he saw what had made the crow lover so much more sour than before.

 

Blood stained the sheets and matted the older man's beard, it now dripping down his fingers and onto the old floorboards. As August lay cold on the bed, all color gone from his skin, blood pooled around and stained a mighty sword piercing the man's heart. It was pure iron with a black stone hilt.

Darnell gasped loudly, eyes going wide as he stared at the dead man, before Krähe paused in his steps. His head whipped around to face Darnell's stunned face, his black eyes staring right at the man with a burning fury. For a moment, their eyes locked. One was brown and full of fear, whilst the other was black and engulfed in rage. The split second they locked eyes was the moment the world rushed away from him once again to a different scene.

 

Krähe, now touching the age of 32, stood within his own father's chambers, a familiar sword in hand as he stared down coldly at the old greyed man's body. The old king, who's crown now laid in a pool of blood, was cold and still. Dead.

Darnell made a small noise as he stared at the weapon caked in blood of not only the man's caretaker, but also his father. Once again, just as expected, Krähe turned around to meet his gaze. One thing Darnell noticed was that his hair was shorter, so much shorter.. It almost mirrored his father's hairstyle, but just a tad bit cut shorter than that. It looked recent. Another thing was the fact that the ring that was usually tied around the man's neck was no longer there, but now upon his left hand's index finger. The last three things Darnell noticed was that one, there was a huge gash running along Krähe's torso, and two, his eyes were a bright red. However, the gash did not stay long and began to.. slowly close up?

Three, The raven was dead on the ground next to his father's corpse.

Darnell was shocked into being as still as a statue. The silence was heavy between them, and it was by a random thought that he realized Krähe looked so much like his father, but still held features from his mother. He was just as tall as his father, towering over him easily.. He was himself was tall for a 25 year old, but Krähe was on a whole different level..

Krähe moved to open his mouth, reaching out for Darnell as if to touch him and question him--

 

The blurred colors rushed around him again and it was a hit to the back of his head that made the world go dark..

 

Before his eyes opened to a worried Mchawi.

 

He groaned quietly for a second, trying to figure out just what had happened to him and why there was a throbbing pain in his skull.

"Are you alright, Darnell?"

Darnell swallowed for a moment before blinking as he stared up at the ceiling. His fingers twitched and brushed against his thumb, causing all of his memories to rush back as he sat up suddenly, cracking his skull against the poor woman leaning over him. She hissed and covered her head in her hands as Darnell stared down at his thumb.

The ring- The ring from his dream was still there..!

 

Mchawi said something, but all he could respond with as he stared wide eyed down at his hand was,

 

 

"What the fuck?"


End file.
